Japanese automakers tend to keep their best stuff for the home market, but occasionally, a crazy performance model will make its way to our shores. That’s what happened in the late 1990s, when Lexus decided to bring the IS (Toyota Altezza) to the United States. The IS 300 was an enthusiast’s dream, though nobody knew it at the time. The car featured the now-iconic 2JZ inline-six engine, rear-wheel drive, and Lexus even made a few of them with a manual transmission. Today, the cars are difficult to find in anything approaching decent condition, but they remain a compelling option as one of the last pure sports sedans from Japan.